The family of Mischa Mabeline Kaalohilani Johnson, the 19-year-old pregnant Army spouse who has been missing since July 31, announced Thursday that investigators now believe she is dead and that the missing-person case is now being treated as a murder investigation.
Her husband, Pfc. Dewayne Arthur Johnson, 28, has been held in military pretrial confinement since at least Monday. Army investigators are still searching for Mischa Johnson, no body has been recovered.
The family spoke out Thursday morning on a live video on the Instagram account of the local podcast Always Always Support Local. In an emotional plea, Mischa Johnson’s mother, Frances Tapiz-Andrian, asked people across Hawaii and the country to contact the Army Criminal Investigations Division if they have any details that could help investigators find her.
“I can’t even bury my daughter,” Tapiz-Andrian said. “Please don’t fail Mischa. I’m asking, I’m pleading. Please, please come out. I hurt every day.”
The military has not officially confirmed Mischa Johnson’s death publicly, and Army officials have declined multiple requests to discuss the case with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, citing the ongoing nature of their investigation. But on Wednesday an Army CID investigator told Hawaii News Now they are looking for more details on Dewayne Johnson’s whereabouts between July 12 and Aug. 1.
Hawaii News Now also reported that store surveillance videos obtained by investigators showed Johnson purchasing tools and cleaning supplies prior to reporting his wife missing.
In the video broadcast on Always Always Support Local, members of Mischa Johnson’s family said Army investigators are also investigating Dewayne Johnson for allegedly having extramarital sexual relationships with several local teenage girls as well as producing and distributing pornographic material depicting minors.
The family said leaders in Dewayne Johnson’s unit told them he was generally quiet and didn’t socialize much with fellow soldiers. The Army private hails from Frederick, Md., and enlisted in 2022. He was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks as a cavalry scout in June 2023.
Mischa Johnson was born and raised on Oahu and grew up in Ewa Beach. At the time of her disappearance, she was six months pregnant with a baby girl. The Army is offering a $10,000 reward for credible information that can lead authorities to her whereabouts.
Army CID can be reached at 808-208-0057, and tips can be sent anonymously online at p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=325.
